Razor of the self-honing type



April 26, 1960 J. c. FRIEL ETAL 2,933,808

RAZOR OF THE SELF-HONING TYPE Filed Nov. 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 /9 iii INVENTOR5 Wm? 61 ji'l/el a! l/iwrlas' Kid/60 BY v 2i 1 J ATTORNEYS April 26, 1960 J. c. FRIEL ET AL 2,933, 08

RAZOR OF THE SELF-HQNING TYPE Filed Nov. 5, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 554/ 59 H balm inil INVENTOR tfwmes 6. li'iel WI/29' illilem all ATTORNEY 3 United States Patent'O RAZOR OF THE SELF-HONING Darien, and Charles W. Pettengill,

James C. Friel, Greenwich, Conn.

Application November 5, 1956, Serial No. 620,309 7 Claims. 01. 30-41) ice respect to the frame, in which the guard edge of the hone is positionally so related to the edge of the blade as to expose very little of the latter, to give a normal or coarse shave, and means for adjusting the rearward limit position of the swinging lever and hone carried thereby forwardly of its basic or datum position so as to obtain medium and close shaves.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a practical embodiment thereof appears.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification, and throughout the figures of which the same reference characters have been employed to designate identical parts;

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the complete selfhoning razor, embodying the principles of the present invention;

pivoted at one end to the handle and carrying a hone at its opposite end, having limited amplitude of arcuate movement beneath the blade and in contact with the edge of the blade.

In the manufacture of such razor on a production scale, it is customary to fabricate the frame excluding the I handle, and in many instancesythe relatively swingable component, of parts stamped from sheet metal. Now it is known fact that all sheet metals which are eligible for the manufacture of razors tend to recover at least to a slight extent, their repose condition when relieved from the stamping pressure. None are so malleable or so lacking in elasticity as to maintain precisely the set shape imparted by the stamping die. It follows, therefore, that when one stamped part is coordinated with another stamped part, the slight error affecting one part due to the extent of its recovery, is multiplied through its mechanical association with another part, so that in a production run of razorsmade from stamped components, there is no such thing as absolute identity of construction, so that when they are tested for a permissible minimum tolerance of accuracy, an excessive percentage of said razors are found to exceed this tolerance and must be rejected. This makes serious inroads into the economy of cost in the manufacture of safety razors, which it is the purpose of present invention to ameliorate.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a safety razor of the type described, in which the frame and the base component of the handle are a single integral die casting.

' Another object of the invention is the provision of a safety razor having a die cast head formed with guide means for the blade, so disposed as to hold the blade firmly in shaving position against a plane face of the head, the blade being formed with lateral tongues cooperable with said guide means for biasing the blade into pressed engagement with the said plane face.

Still another object of the invention is the provision of a razor having the die cast frame as described, and a swingable hone unit cooperable with the blade held in the head of the frame in the manner described, the hone having some slight latitude of free lateral movement, and being spring-pressed toward the adjacent side of the blade, so that even though the blade edge and the mean position of the plane of the hone may not be parallel, the hone wipes 'the edge of the blade from end to end when the hone unit is oscillated.

A further object of the invention is to provide a safety razor of the self-honing type in which the swinging lever that carries the hone is spring-pressed in such a way as to bias 'the swinging lever in a rearmost .position with l Figure 2 is a perspective View showing the handle parts, including the means for adjusting the swing of the hone lever, said means being shown axially displaced, and showing also the hone unit and spring therefor, longitudinally displaced, for clarity, and depicting also the blade;

Figure 3 is a side sectional view of the razor with inserted blade, the parts being in shaving position;

Figure 4 is a cross-section taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a cross-section taken along the line 5-5 of Figure 3, showing the back of the hone and the rear part of the blade;

Figure 6 is a cross-section taken along the line 6-6 of Figure 3, showing the blade in fully inserted position in the frame;

Figure 7 is a plan view partly in section, showing the dispenser loose coupled against the head portion of the frame, positioned for the insertion of a blade;

Figure 8 is a view in section, taken along the line 8-8 of Figure 7;

Figure 9 is a cross-section taken along the line 9-9 of Figure 8, showing the dispenser with a stack of blades;

Figure 10 is a perspective View showing the ejector element of the dispenser.

Referring now in detail to the figures, the numeral 1, Figure 2, represents the frame as a whole, which is an integral die casting, including the head 2 and the handle component 3. The head comprises an upper plate 4, a lower plate 5, and lateral cheek plates 6 connecting the upper and lower plates, said plates together defining a chamber or wide slot 7 opening from front to back, against the upper wall of which slot the blade seats, and through which slot the hone 9 oscillates in contact with the edge of the blade 10.

The handle component 3 has the uncleft lower end portion 11, above which the handle component is bifurcated by the slot 12 which extends through the lower plate 5 of the head and provides a passage to accommodate the swing of the lever 13 of the hone unit 14. Said lever has a laterally open longitudinally extending slot 15 near its lower end, permitting it to be assembled about the pivot pin 16 which intersects the slot 12. A coil spring 17 is inserted through an axial hole 17' in the lower end of the handle component 3. Said spring is deflected about a curved guide 18 pinned in the slot below the pivot pin 16. The direction change produced by the'deflection of the spring imparts a lateral bias to the upper end of the spring toward the front or shaving side of the razor. The lever 13 has a tit 19 projecting from its lower end below its pivotal axis, also inclined toward The free end of the spring is seated over the tit 19 and biases the portion of the lever which is above. the pivot 16 into its limit rearward position in which it is stopped by contact with fixed means on the razor head, which will be described further along.

The inner face 20 of the upper plate 4 of the head has a plane surface against which. the blade rests, and which is tilted slightly downwardly relative to the axis of the handle, toward the front at a convenient shaving angle. The length of the lever 13 is such that the hone 9 presses with light pressure against the blade adjacent its edge throughout the arcuate amplitude of swing of the hone. This means that the lever at the lower end of the slot 15 is normally maintained a small distance away from the pivot pin 16 so that the hone is continuously pressed against the blade directly through the end thrust of the spring 17. The hone 9 is a die cast member which comprises a plate having an abrasive face 22 and a forward guard 23 offset downwardly from the abrasive face and provided with drainage openings 24. Said guard on the under side is formed with a rearwardly facing shoulder 21. The abrasive face is preferably planiform so as to impart progressively increasing pressure to the blade edge as the hone edge moves forward. The manner in which the hone and lever 13 are coupled together is an important feature of the invention. Referring particularly to Figure 5, it will be seen that the lower or under side of the hone is cast with an outstanding flange 25, forming a rectangular recess 26 and from the fiat floor of said recess project the integrally cast rivets 27. The lever 13 at its adjacent end is slitted longitudinally in the course of its manufacture to define portions which are the pads 28, oppositely deflected-at right angles to the shaft of the lever, and having holes 2 -9 through which the rivets extend. It is desired that there be no lost motion between the lever and the hone in a front to back direction so the pads come quite 'up to the front and back portions of the flange 25. It is essential, however, that the hone have slight lost motion in a lateral direction relative to the lever 13, giving it some freedom of tilt so that throughout its range of swing, the abrasive face will continuously contact the blade edge from end to end, even though the edge of the blade and the plane of the abrasive face may not be precisely parallel. The pads 28 do not quite extend out to the lateral portions of the flange 25. The holes 29 are originally round and so that the pads make a slip fit over the rivets .27. The tops of the rivets are then upset against the pads. At this stage, the lever is tightly coupled to the bone. Then the bone is held fast while the lever is vibrated rapidly through a range of small amplitude until the heads of the rivets are slightly lifted andthe holes extended laterally by displacement of the metal forming slots in a lateral direction. In Figure 5 the length of the slots is exaggerated.

Normally, the lateral bias of the spring holds the shoulder M at both ends against the stops 30 formedon the head 2 at opposite sides of the mouth of the slot 7, and retains it in this position during shaving. Means are provided for adjusting the guard in a forward direction to the edge of the blade, and thus modifying the nature of the shave. Said means is associated with the handle of the razor and adjusts the rearward limit position of the lever 13. It is to be noted particularly in Figures 2 and 3 that the handle component 3 is slightly tapered in a direction toward the head, that it is cylindrical adjacent the head, and that the cylindrical portion 29a is formed with a circumferential collar 31. A ring 32, preferably split so that it can be installed by expanding it over the lower end of the handle component, is rotatably mounted upon the tapered portion and rests against the collar 31. The fit of the ring 32 upon. the tapered portion is -sufficiently close to require some little effort to turn the ring.

A tubular sheath 33 forming the complementary component of the handle as a bore which was originally of such diameter as to slidably fit over the'lowerend 11 of the handle component 3. Wheninthis. condition, the

sheath is telescoped over the handle component 3 until the imperforate lower end of the sheath abuts the end 11 of the lever 13, obstructing the hole 17, thus retaining the spring 17. After the sheath has been thus positioned, it is subjected to die pressure which contracts it into .permanent pressed fit upon the component 3. The length of the sheath is such that when in this press-fitted position its upper end has a tolerance of separation from the ring 3 2, which assures against the latter binding. The ring has an external diameter that places its outer periphery beyond the adjacent circumference of the sheath on the one hand and the collar on the other, so that it is readily rotated by the thumb and finger. Its inner circumference has a series of concave indentations 34 of different depth that can be progressively brought into registry with the rear opening of the slot 12. The deepest of. these openings lets the lever 13 under the bias of the spring 17, move the honeto its normal rearward position against the stops 30. The shallower indents are of graded depth, and when in registry with the slot, engage the lever 13 before the shoulder 21 on the hone has reached the stops, and thus adjusts the position of the guard relative to the blade edge. Since the lever is spring biased against the ring, the latter acts as a positive detent to hold the adjustment while shaving, and due to the curved shape of the indents, thelever .is readily lifted to free the ring for another adjustment.

The description now proceeds to the blade and the correlated means for seating and retaining the blade. In Figure 2, which shows the blade 10 per se, it is seen to have a normally fiat and planiform middle portion 35, with a single shaving edge 36 and two similar parallel lateral tongues 37, one at each side, separated from the side edges of the middle portion for the greater part of their length, connected to the middle portion at the rear, and having their free ends terminating short of the front of the middle portion. The tongues are normally in the same plane as the middle portion; they are resilient like the rest of the blade, and capable of being diverted from the plane of, the middle portion. At its rear, the nonshaving edge of the blade is formed with the recesses 38 equidistantly positioned with respect to the center of said rear edge. The blade has a hole 39 therethrough at or adjacent the middle of the rear portion. This is useful in removing the blade, as will appear. The blade is reversible in the razor..

It has previously been stated that the blade rests against the upper wall'of the wide slot 7. This upper wall is, of course, the inner face of the plate 4. This plate has at its rear end a pair of similar lugs 40 inclined downward in a forward direction so as to form abrupt shoulders 41 at the front. These lugs are positioned to register with the indentations 38 in the blade, when the latter reaches its fully inserted position. It is only then that .themiddle portion 35 of the blade lies in surface contact with the inner face 20. When the blade begins to be inserted it is in a plane that intersects the inclined ends of the lugs 40.

The cheekplates are formed with narrow slots 41a, which open laterally into the wide slot 7, forming side extensions of said wide slot. These narrow slots open at the rear of the head 4, the lower side of their end openings being slightly below the ends of the lugs 40. .T he width of theslot 7 is substantially that of the middle part 35 of the blade. The narrow slots add sufiicient width to house the tongues 37. The blade is introduced from the rear of the head. The edge portion leads the tongues .by quite a distance. At the beginning of the insertion the middle part of the blade cams over the inclined ends of the lugs and continues inward until its forward portion rests upon the hone. When the insertion hasv progressed to the point at which the tongues begin to enter the upwardly inclined lateral narrow slots, they begin to .be diverted upwardly and from that pninton they bias the middlev portion of the blade up.-

ward toward the inner face 20. When the insertion is complete, the blade clears the lugs 40 and snaps into place, parallel to the inner face 20 and in surface contact therewith. The lugs 40 hold the blade immovable, and ashas been said, fix the position of the shaving edge. The upper plate 4 is formed with a recess 42, exposing sufficient of the blade to enable it to be grasped by the thumb and forefinger for the purpose of inserting it or removing it.

In operation, the ring 32 is set to produce the desired type of shave, coarse, medium, close, very close, and need not be changed for long periods, if ever. While shaving, if the blade appears to lackthe desired keenness, the razor is given several quick shakes in a back and forth direction, the user having hold of the sheath component of the handle, so as to oscillate the hone through inertia. Due to the bias of the spring 17, the hone will always be withdrawn to its limit position beneath the blade at the end of the period of shaking. The slight freedom of lateral mobility of the hone under spring pressure compels it to engage the edge of the blade from end to end, assuring a properly and continuously distributed honing action. The great virtue in the structure of this razor is the invariable precision of assemblage stemming from the die castingof the principal parts, which enables the manufacture of great production quantities with few or no rejects The provision of the shave adjusting ring makes it possible to manufacture a single razor to suit the various shaving habits of different users, instead of, as at present, making one razor for persons of one shaving habit, and anotherv razor for another type.

The subject razor is designed to be served by a dispenser, as well as to be supplied with a blade by hand. Figures 7 to disclose a dispenser, by way of example, and the means for loosely coupling it to the head of the razor. The dispenser, as shown, comprises a generally rectangular box 43 which is to be held in interfitting relation to the razor when a blade is to be inserted in the razor. Said box has a forward wall 44 which is the precise width of the razor head 42 and has a transverse slot 45.at the top, the precise width of a single blade, through which slot the topmost of a stack of blades contained in the dispenser may pass to the razor.

The two side walls 56 have extensions 47 which embrace the sides of the razor with frictional pressure, the extensions being thinner than the side walls 56, forming shoulders 56a which are shaped to conform to contiguous edges of the cheek plates 6 of the razor head. It is a simple matter to hold the dispenser in interfitted contact with the head of the razor. The frictional pressure of the side extensions 47 upon the head is of material assistance in maintaining the dispenser properly positioned. When the dispenser and razor are so coupled, the slot 45 is in position to deliver a blade to' the razor in a plane that intersects the tops of the lugs 40, or slightly below said plane. Within the box is a stack of blades 48, ten for example. These rest con gruently with respect to one another, and upon a spring 49 which lifts the stack to bring each top blade to the level of the slot 45. Figure 8 shows that the cover 50 of the dispenser is inset withrespect to the side 44 to accommodate the rear 'end of the top plate 4 of the razor head, which juts beyond the side plates 7. The front end ofthe cover has a downwardly extending flange 51, which extends below the inner surface of the cover a slight distance. The slot 45 is formed between the end of this flange and the front wall 44. The flange 51 is above the stack of blades which abuts the flange under spring pressure. The cover is provided with a medial slot 52, extending from front to back, through which the knob 53 of an ejector projects, said ejector being shown by itself in Figure 10. The knob has a shank 54 which plays in the slot 52, and is attached to the middle of a transverse bar 55 having books 56 depending from its rear edge for a distance equal to the thickness of one razor blade. The thickness of the bar 55 is the same as the depth of the flange 51 below the inside face of the cover 50. The rear end of the stack of blades presses equally upon the end of said flange and the transverse bar 55, so that the blades are maintained parallel to the cover 50.

The dispenser is provided with the corner spacers 57, best shown in Figure 7, having substantially the width of the tongues and the spaces between the tongues and middle portion of the blade. A spacer bar 58, Figure 8, fills the space immediately to the rear of the stack of razors. Thus the razors are allocated congruently in the stack. Said spacers and spacing bar also serve as guides in the upward spring biased movement of the lever.

In operation, the knob 53 is moved forwardly from its rear or repose position in the slot until it can be moved no further. As a result of this movement, the hooks 56 engage the top blade, but no other, and move the blade forward until its edge end contacts the sloping tops of the lugs 40. The middle portion of the blade cams upon the inclined faces of said lugs, the blade being thus directed slightly in adownward direction. Further movement of the ejector advances the blade until the tongues 37 enter the slots 41a. From now on, the tongues are diverted upwardly, following the inclination of the slots. The resistance of the tongues to deflection draws the middle portion of the blade up against the planiform portion of the under side of the top plate 4. The blade is then advanced until its edge contacts the hone and reaches a point in operative relation to the guard 23. At this time the tongues reach the inner ends of the slots 41. Also at this moment, the rear part of the blade comes into full registration with the lugs 40 so that said rear portion snaps up against the. planiform face 5 and the blade is fully seated. The lugs prevent any backward movement of the blade, due to resistance that it may encounter in shaving.

In order to facilitate the removal of the blade, the dispenser is provided on one corner with an ejector hook 59, which may be engaged with the hole 39 in the blade.

While we have in the above description disclosed what we believe to be a practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the specific details of construction and arrangement of parts, as shown, are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

What we claim is:

1. Self-honing razor comprising an integrally integral frame including a head and a handle component, said head comprising top, bottom, and side plates, together defining a passage through said head opening from front to back of said head, the under side of said top plate having a planiform portion providing a seat for a razor blade, said handle component being integral with said bottom plate, and having a slot opening through said component from front to back and intersecting said bottom plate, a lever swingably mounted in said slot having adjacent its lower end a longitudinal slot with lateral entrance for a pivot pin, a pivot pin bridging the slot in said component and embraced by the slot in said lever, a hone carried by said lever at its free end, reciprocable in said passage, means for limiting the amplitude of reciprocation of said hone and a coil spring in said handle component biasing said hone against a razor blade seated against said planiform portion, and floatably mounting said lever relative to said head and biasing said lever toward its rearward limit position, a guide mounted in the slot in said component below said pivot pin, curvilinearly diverting the axis of said spring for imparting thereto at its end adjacent said lever a lateral bias urging said hone toward its rearward limit position, said handle component having a bore in its lower end '7 for introducing said spring into the slot insaid component, 'said lever having a tit seated in the adjacent end of said spring, through which the lateral bias of said spring is imparted to said lever.

2. Self-honing razor comprising a frame including a head and a handle component, said head comprising top, bottom and side plates, together defining a passage through said head open from front to back of said head, the under side of said top plate having a planiform portion providing a seat for a razor blade, said handle component extending from said bottom plate and having a slot opening through said component from front to back and intersecting said bottom plate, a lever swingably mounted in said slot, a hone carried by said lever at its free end reciprocable in said passage, means for limiting the amplitude of reciprocation of said hone, a spring in said handle component engagingsaid lever biasing said hone againsta razor blade seated against the planiform portion of said top plate, and also biasing said lever in a direction to urge it towardits rearward limit position, and means for adjusting the rearward limit'position of said lever and hone comprising a rotatable member journaled on said handle component in a zone intersecting said slot at a point remote from the axis of swing of said lever, normally out of obstructiverelation to the swing of said lever but having a part movable upon rotation of said member, back of said lever in obstructive position to the full amplitude of swing thereof.

3. Self-honing razor as claimed in claim 2, said handle component provided with a cylindrical portion upon which said rotatable member is journaled, and having a collar at the side of said member adjacent said head against which said member rests, said member being a ring having a series of recesses opening in its inner circumference arranged to be selectively brought into registry with said slot, at the back of said lever, one of said recesses being of sufiicient depth to allow full rearward swing of said lever and hone, and another being sufficiently shallow to cause said ring to obstruct said full rearward swing, and a tubular sheath providing the complementary component of said handle, telescoped upon said bifurcated component up to a point close to said ring, and secured to said bifurcated component for retaining said ring.

4. Self-honing razor as claimedin claim 2, said handle component providing a cylindrical portionadjacent said head, a collar at the end of said cylindrical portion remote from said head against which said member rests, said rotatable member being a ring having a series of recesses opening in its inner circumference arranged to be selectively brought into registry with the said slot at the back or said lever, one of said recesses having sufficient depth to interpose no obstruction to the full rearward swing of said lever and hone, and another having sufficient shallowness to cause the ring to obstruct said 'fnll rearward swing, and a tubular sheath providing the complementary component of said handle surrounding said bifurcated component up to a point close to said ring, and irremovably secured to said bifurcated component for retaining said ring.

5. In a razor of the self-honing type having a slotted handle and a lever and hone assemblage comprising a lever pivoted within said slot, adapted to swing therein, and a bone carried by said lever at its free end and swingable through an arc of limited amplitude in contact with a razor blade mounted in said razor, 'in such an assemblage, a lever comprising a shank having pads at the end remote from its pivotal connection, oppositely deflected in a common plane at right angles to said shank, said hone'having an integral flange outstanding from its face adjacent said lever, providing a surround with parallel opposite sides, rivets integral with said hone outstanding from the portion of said face within said surround, said pads having holes encompassing said rivets, snugly fitting said rivets in the direction of swing of said lever but having slight lost motion in their 'fit in a direction perpendicular to the plane of swing of said lever, and the heads of said rivets being normally slightly out of contact with said pads, whereby said hone has slight capacity to tilt laterally with respect to said lever.

-6. In a razor of the self-honing type as claimed in claim '5, said pads being positioned in diagonally opposite quarters of the space within said surround, each having its outer side which faces the direction of swing, against said surround, and its other outer side slightly spaced from said surround.

7. Self-honing razor comprising an inherently integral frame including a head and a handle component, said head comprising top, bottom and side portions, together defining a passage through said head opening from front to back of said head, the underside of said top plate having a planiform face providing a seat for a razor blade, said handle component being integral with said bottom plate and having a slot opening through said component from front to back and intersecting said bottom plate, a lever swingably mounted in said slot having adjacent its lower end a longitudinal slot with lateral entrance for a pivot pin, a pivot pin bridging the slot. in said component and embraced by the slot in said lever, a hone carried by said lever at its free end, reciprocable in said passage, means forlimiting the amplitude of reciprocation of said hone, a coil spring in said handle component biasing said hone against a razor blade seated against said planiform face and fioatably mounting said lever relative to said head and biasing said lever toward its rearward limit position, a guide mounted in the slot in said handle component below said pivot pin engageable with said spring diverting the axis thereof curvilinearly thereby imparting thereto at its end adjacent said lever, a lateral bias urging said lever and bone toward their rearward limit position, said handle component having a bore in its lower end for introducing said spring into the slot of said component, said lever having a tit seated in the adjacent end of said spring through which the lateral bias of said spring is imparted to said lever, and a tubular sheath surrounding said bifurcated component with its lower end obstructing the bore in the end of said bifurcated component, and irremovably secured upon said bifurcated component.

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